The Princess Without a Crown -- [COMPLETE]

"You read my mind..."

Peter and Stiles went and caught a plane back to Beacon Hills that next morning while Hope and Derek decided to stay. Just for a week or so, to grow Hope's strength again before traveling. By day three she already felt so much better - now that she was on a constant diet of high protein and blood.

She and Derek explored the city of New Orleans and the French Quarter. They ate gumbo, listened to street jazz, and binged on beignets. They even stayed up late most nights to spend time with her family. They all liked Derek well enough and were very curious about the differences between their own wolf-kind and his. The only one who had yet to warm up to the idea was her father, naturally. But Hope knew that would come with time, she didn't need to push it.

This evening, Hope decided to show Derek one of her favorite places in all of the bayou. She rowed out in a canoe with him, the paddle submerging into the murky water as they followed a lazy channel littered with life. Some might not think of the moss-covered cypress trees as beautiful, but Hope did. She loved drifting through the lily pads and pointing out the glittering eyes of alligators hiding under the surface.

Yes, Hope adored New Orleans, but she also loved Beacon Hills and how normal she felt there. No one to stop and stare at the tribrid, fearful of her family. Though the Quarter held such a special place in her soul that she knew in the future she'd be visiting often, with Derek by her side.

"Where are we going?" Derek asked, his voice hushed to not scare the wildlife nearby.

Hope pointed up ahead at a cabin in the distance. Cabin was a loose term, but the structure wasn't caving and it was clean and quaint. It held a bed, a very small bathroom, and the tiniest kitchen space known to man, but this was her happy place while growing up. A place she could be by herself and read by the fire next to the lake. Few people ventured this far and those who did usually looked past it as it was hidden behind groves of thick vegetation.

"I call it my cabin, but it isn't really owned by anyone. It's where I spent most of my childhood. My first way to really escape from the drama back at the compound," she smiled sheepishly, "It's not much, but I love it."

Smiling, Derek took her hand and brushed her knuckles with his lips.

"I love it too, then." He murmured.

A soft blush spread along the ridge of her nose and cheeks as she pulled the canoe to a stop and bumped against the wooden walkway to the cabin. She tied the rope off and stepped out, wrapping her arms around Derek's bicep, only for him to scoop her up into his arms and tossed her over his shoulder.

Hope let out a squeal of laughter and squirmed. "May I ask what you're doing, sir?"

Chuckling, Derek entered the cabin and swung her around. Her legs wrapped around his waist while her arms hung over his shoulders. "Was this trip just to get me alone, Ms. Mikaelson?"

Hope couldn't help but giggle "Hm, maybe..." she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Is that okay?"

"More than okay," Derek smirked and walked to the bed where he rested her down on her back. The bed itself was covered in a plastic film to protect it from the elements and dust. She watched as he swiped it away and let it fall to the floor in a heap.

Derek leaned down and captured her lips in another kiss, this time it was more than playful. There was a heat behind each other's intentions that seemed to crescendo into a scorching flame. It immediately set Hope on fire. She gazed up at him, her golden eyes matching his as they breathed together. Lost in a world of their own.

They both seemed to be on the same page as they took each other's clothes off together, savoring the way their hands ran against exposed skin - leaving gooseflesh in its wake. Hope sighed softly as Derek unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor. He trailed hot kisses from her lips, down her throat, and to her chest where his mouth took the nipple of her left breast, rolling the pebbled tip around his tongue. Hope moaned against his throat, a chilled heat of arousal swirling between her legs. She rubbed her thighs together, a soft whimper escaping as her body desperately sought his touch.